“For starters, he would never let any of us close the restaurant. He always insisted on being the last one out. One night, a couple of weeks before I quit, I decided to hide out to see if I could figure out what he was up to and why he would never let anyone close with him.”
Kyle explained he clocked out and walked off the ship. He waited nearby for the rest of his co-workers to leave and then snuck back on board before Lawson locked up.
“He didn’t see you sneak back on?” Carlita asked.
“No. There’s a set of side stairs that lead up to the main deck area where Lawson’s office is located. Not many employees know about them. I found them by accident. I saw Lawson heading down to lock up, so I knew the coast was clear. I snuck into the storage closet next to Lawson’s office. There’s a gap in the door and I figured I could see what was going on if Lawson returned. I stayed in there for a long time. I almost gave up, but didn’t because Lawson left the lights on. I knew he would at least come back to shut them off.”
“Did Lawson return to his office?”
“Yep.” Kyle nodded. “He wasn’t alone. He was with another man.”
“Could you hear what they were saying?”
“I could hear them talking. Actually, it sounded like they were arguing.”
Carlita shifted in her chair. “What were they arguing about?”
“I wish I knew.”
Chapter 15
“I thought you said you heard them.” Carlita shook her head, confused.
“Oh, I heard them all right and if I spoke Spanish, I would’ve been able to understand what they were saying. All I know is from the tone of the conversation, it wasn’t a friendly one.”
Kyle explained Lawson and the stranger went into Lawson’s office and shut the door. He stayed inside the closet for another hour before the men emerged. “Lawson shut off all of the lights and I hung out inside the closet a little longer until I was certain the coast was clear.”
“How did you get out?” Mercedes asked, remembering how Autumn and she used the rope ladder hanging off the side of the ship to make their getaway.
“I couldn’t leave through the main entrance. I would’ve tripped the door alarm. Instead, I made my way down to one of the lower decks. There’s a window inside the galley that doesn’t latch. I snuck out through the window.”
“It’s a shame you didn’t know what they were saying,” Mercedes said.
“I do know a couple of words. Dinero for money and recoger. They said recoger a few times, so I looked it up,” Kyle said. “It means pick up.”
“They were talking about money and pick up. Maybe the man was one of the food vendors,” Carlita theorized.
The server interrupted when he returned to the table to ask if they needed anything else.
“That’s about it.” Kyle abruptly stood. “I better get back to work. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help.”
“You did help.” Carlita thanked him for his time and watched Kyle walk away before turning to her daughter. “What do you make of it?”
“It’s hard to tell. It could be something, or it could be nothing. The fact the man showed up after hours is interesting…maybe.” Mercedes reached for another mozzarella stick. “This marinara sauce is delicious. I’m trying to figure out what makes it so tasty.”
Carlita reached for a cheese stick, dipped it in the sauce and bit the end. “The garlic gives it a nice flavor. Maybe we should serve these as appetizers at Ravello.”
“It would be a huge hit.” Mercedes polished off the rest of her food. “I wonder if Tierney would mind sharing the recipe.”
Tierney dropped by their table while they were gathering their things and Mercedes complimented her on the sauce.
“Thanks. It was my grandmother’s recipe and a restaurant favorite. Would you like a copy?”
“We would love the recipe.” Mercedes rattled off her cell phone number and Tierney jotted it down on her notepad. “I can’t wait to visit Ravello after you open.”
“Now that you have our number, we should keep in touch.” Carlita said.
“It’s always nice to have someone else in the restaurant business to bounce ideas off,” Tierney said.
“I agree.” Carlita smiled. “Thanks again for bringing Kyle out to talk to us.”
Tierney walked them to the door. “I hope the authorities are able to figure out who attacked Lawson.”
Mercedes thanked Tierney again. She stepped onto the sidewalk and held the door for her mother. “I wonder if one of Lawson’s employees attacked him. I wish we could track some of them down.”
“I got a few thoughts on that.” Carlita climbed into the car. “The fact Lawson’s property was damaged while no one was around, his attack was at night and Kyle confirmed Lawson was doing business dealings after hours are all clues. We gotta figure out how they all tie in together.”
“Motive and opportunity,” Mercedes said. “Unfortunately, there seems to be ample motive and opportunity for Pete and Mark Fox.”
“Then there’s Emmett Pridgen,” Carlita pointed out.
When they got back to the house, Carlita went straight to the computer, anxious to pore over the photos Mercedes and Autumn had taken inside Lawson’s office. She not only wanted to look for clues, but also see how Lawson ran his restaurant operations.
She scrutinized the menu planner first, before examining the kitchen inventory. The last thing she studied was the Mystic Dream’s profit and loss statement. She scanned the list and paused when she reached the labor column.
No wonder Kyle and the other employees threatened to file a petition. Lawson’s labor costs were low, and although Carlita wasn’t in the restaurant business quite yet, she remembered reading the rule
